#Tak does the same thing but it involves janitorial work instead of food service

[random-iz-stuff]

Do you think in the snow, ZIM’s food drone encoding affects way more of his actions than most people think? In episode ten, gaz asks if the ship has escape pods and he immediately answers truthfully, for an example

I never thought about it until you brought it up but now I love the idea.

And you’re definitely right.

Zim’s defects make it so he can actively go against his assignment as a Food Service Drone, but there’s still a part of his PAK, a part of his BRAIN, that claims he’s a Food Service Drone, and it influences his actions every once in a while.

I already have a headcanon that Zim’s encoding as a Food Service Drone gives him knowledge and skill with fast food equipment and recipes, meaning that he can cook just about any fast food recipe using a grill and deep fryer, but his encoding affects more than that.

Like in Career Day when Zim takes that test and it gives him the answer of food service worker. He got that answer because he’s encoded as a Food Service Worker, so his encoding affected his thoughts when answering.

Also, due to his encoding, if Zim is asked a question that sounds like something he’d be asked as a Food Service Drone, he’ll feel a strange compulsion to respond truthfully. Like in episode 10 where, like you mentioned, Gaz asks Zim if the station has escape pods and he immediately answers truthfully. This is because Gaz’s question sounds like something you’d ask a Food Service Drone, like asking “does this restaurant have a bathroom?” or “Where’s the exit?”. So Gaz’s question triggers Zim’s encoding as a Food Service Drone and he immediately answers with the truth.

Asking Zim if he has a certain thing can also make him feel that same strange compulsion to answer truthfully. Because a frequently asked question from customer to employee is “do you have/sell [insert thing here]?”

But Zim isn’t forced to respond truthfully, or at all for that matter. He feels an urge to do so, but he can ignore it if he tries. And not just because of his defects. Regular, non-defective Food Service Drones can also hold back the urge to respond to certain questions and ignore other Food Service Drone quirks on their own, and Zim’s defects make it even easier for him, so Zim only really slips up and goes into food service mode when he’s not paying attention, and then usually snaps right back to normal a few seconds later.

Since Zim was repressing all his memories of Foodcourtia until he was forced back, Zim didn’t know why he felt these compulsions or thoughts for most of the series. After escaping Foodcourtia for a second time, it all fell into place for him there.